Secret Santas Holiday Collection
Authors: Calista Fox, Erin Quinn, Mary Leo
Release Date: November 2014
Genres: Adult Romance
Synopsis:
Kissing Kris Kringle
In the spirit of giving and paying it forward, all of the author’s proceeds for Kissing Kris Kringle will be donated to The Animal Welfare League, an amazing organization dedicated to saving animals lives and working to improve the way they are treated and regarded by society.
Kris Kringle is just an average guy living in the tiny town of North Pole, Maine where Christmas isn’t just a holiday—it’s a way of life. But not for Kris. He might be named after the big guy in red, but Kris is more Scrooge than Santa.
Until he wakes up from a night of partying with his friends to find himself in possession of a Santa suit, a toy bag and a puppy. Kris soon discovers that he’s been relegated to Santa’s naughty list and there’s only one way to get his name removed….put on the suit and spread some cheer.
Lucky for Kris every cloud has a silver snowflake and his quest to get off that list lands him in the arms of the woman he’s been lusting after for years.
It takes a little magic, but Kris is about to get everything he didn’t even know he wanted for Christmas.
‘Tis the season for Christmas miracles…
Having landed himself on Santa’s Naughty List, Nick Santos is given a chance at redemption. Granted, he’s tasked with some daunting challenges—pimping Santa’s ride and fixing the town’s holiday bling in the once year-round Christmas Capital of the World, North Pole, Maine. But playing Secret Santa comes with some unexpected perks, like finally catching the eye of the woman who sparks his deepest desires, Vixen White.
Vixen has no idea what’s come over Nick this holiday season, but his good deeds around town help her to remember the magic of Christmas, long forgotten. And his sexy grin and a searing, stolen kiss under mistletoe have her wishing her dream of being Naughty St. Nick’s one and only will finally come true.
All she has to do…is believe.
Romancing Rudy RaindearRudy Raindear thought he’d left North Pole, Main in his rear-view mirror. Now, after several years, he’s returned to convince his beloved grandfather to retire and sell his struggling bakery, Sugar Plums – the linchpin in a potentially lucrative real estate deal – great for Rudy, devastating for the town.
But all is not what it seems in this magical Christmas town, especially after Rudy lands on Santa’s Naughty List. Suddenly Rudy’s nose is turning red for the tiniest of white lies and the one girl he wanted to impress, Jenny Bells, is on his case for trying to close Santa’s favorite bakery.
What’s a guy to do?
Start baking and just maybe Rudy can save the bakery, and convince Jenny that sometimes, being a little naughty, is oh-so nice.
Have a holiday story that put you on Santa's nice list, or perhaps the naughty? Let us hear it!
We're looking to warm up this holiday season with your most heartfelt and cherished yuletide memories and share them with all the romantics. We'll be collecting reader’s stories and sharing them on the #SexySecretSantas Author's social media pages! - Erin Quinn, Calista Fox, and Mary Leo!
To have your memory featured, just write a review for "Kissing Kris Kringle", "Naughty St. Nick", OR "Romancing Rudy Raindear", and send the link to your review to pubcraftteam@gmail.com with your favourite holiday memory! Include a pic if you like! We'll select a story to be shared on the authors pages each day!
You can learn more about the Secret Santas Holiday Collection on Erin Quinn’s blog here: http://bit.ly/1wxRA3J
Kissing Kris Kringle: http://amzn.to/1s0ycWV
To have your memory featured, just write a review for "Kissing Kris Kringle", "Naughty St. Nick", OR "Romancing Rudy Raindear", and send the link to your review to pubcraftteam@gmail.com with your favourite holiday memory! Include a pic if you like! We'll select a story to be shared on the authors pages each day!
You can learn more about the Secret Santas Holiday Collection on Erin Quinn’s blog here: http://bit.ly/1wxRA3J
Kissing Kris Kringle: http://amzn.to/1s0ycWV
Naughty St. Nick: http://amzn.to/1AcS9nf
Excerpt from Naughty St. Nick
Nick sauntered into the bakery the next evening while Vixen tried, yet again, to conjure a bit of creativity with a draft synopsis.
He looked disheveled, sexily unkempt. More so than usual. His sandy-brown hair stuck out all over his head, as though he’d raked his hands through it numerous times. He wore a black v-necked T-shirt with Yeah, I Can Fix It scrawled across his rigid pectoral ledge. The material conformed to his hard muscles, the short sleeves straining against rock-hard biceps, the hem only halfway, haphazardly tucked into Levi’s that sported grease stains and sawdust.
Christ, the man could roll out of bed from a wild weekend and still look sinfully delicious.
Of course, Vixen wouldn’t know this first hand. But given how incredibly gorgeous Naughty
Nick was, she considered it an easy call to make.
He was a six-foot-two-inch hunk of a man with chiseled features, mischievous hazel eyes and a strong jawline covered by two days’ worth of stubble that gave him a sexy edge. Raw intensity mixed with irresistible charm oozed from his every pore. A lethal combination.
He chatted with Jenny for a few minutes as she manned the counter. Then Nick slid his gaze toward the small dining room and jerked his chin in Vixen’s direction, a casual greeting.
She averted her gaze.
For one thing, Nick was a thousand times out of her league. He had a reputation for knowing things... Things women like Vixen White didn’t speculate or fantasize about. She’d heard enough dreamy, lustful sighs over Nick to not only last a lifetime, but to convince her he’d be sadly disappointed if he ever got his hands on her.
Not that he ever would.
Where had that thought come from, anyway?
Darn that Jenny Bells for planting seeds in her head, telling her Nick had rambled on about her in his drunken state.
Honestly, Vixen had walked away from more than her fair share of water-cooler gossip about Nick—his talented hands and tongue...his scintillating bedroom talk...the wicked ways he
could so easily bring a woman to orgasm—to know she shouldn’t let him occupy a second of her thoughts. The two of them were not simpatico. Never had been, never would be.
She kept all those voices, thoughts and the clawing curiosity from her mind. She didn’t need to waste her time thinking about Nick. In fact, she figured it was best to pretend he didn’t even exist.
Impossible.
He constantly crept into her brain. She constantly dealt with the tug-o-war that was her sensible side and the burning desire she had to throw caution to the wind.
Such a dangerous game to play, even if it only a mental one.
Or one now grounded in reality—because Nick strolled toward her.
She caught the glimpse of him in her peripheral vision and her pulse kicked up several notches. He was at her elbow before she could close the lid on her laptop and escape out the side door.
“Hey, Vix.” His deep, sensual voice rolled slowly down her spine like warm honey. Making her squirm in a suddenly hot and bothered way.
He reached for the chair next to her, jerked it around and straddled the seat.
Peering suspiciously at him from under sooty lashes, she simply said, “Nick.”
Simply? Yeah, right.
Her tone was low and sultry. Belying the tingles that ran rampant through her body. The way they always did when Nick was near.
“Haven’t seen you in a while,” he commented as he unabashedly took her in, from her plump, dark curls that she’d pulled up on the sides, leaving soft tendrils around her temple, to her blue eyes she always accented with smoky shadow and glam-black mascara, to her glossy lips. His gaze lingered there a moment, making her breath catch, before dropping to her chest, which suddenly rose and fell with her now-shallow breathing.
He seemed reluctant to drag his attention from her breasts, capturing her gaze again, an unapologetic grin on his face and fire in his eyes.
Vixen felt the effects of that scorching look to the depths of her soul. She crossed her legs and pressed her thighs together as a tickle between them ratcheted her pulse even higher. Heat
burst on her cheeks and she had to tilt her head away, in hopes of hiding her instant, innate response to Nick.
“You know, you get prettier every day,” he said in is warm, intimate timbre.
Vixen knew better than to let him bait her with flattery. Even if it was incredibly sweet and so sincere-sounding that she truly wanted to believe he wasn’t just mindlessly flirting.
She knew better.
Forcing herself to ignore his compliment entirely, she said, “You haven’t seen me around because I’ve been busy.” Avoiding you. She bit back a sigh. It was pretty much a fulltime job. “I’ve been spending time in Bangor. My aunt has a bookstore there, remember? I’ve been filling in for her staff when they go on vacation or have family emergencies. Or when she’s just plain shorthanded.”
Her most recent stint had lasted an entire month. She’d missed North Pole the whole time. And despite knowing that keeping Nick out of her immediate line of vision was for the best—until she someday broke free of this ridiculous attraction she felt toward him—she’d yearned for those moments when she’d catch sight of him as much as she’d longed to return to their quirky little town.
But her Aunt Noelle was the only family Vixen had left. She’d lived in North Pole up until Vixen’s mother had passed when Vixen was just sixteen. Noelle had married and now she and her husband were happily settled in Bangor.
“Well, it’s nice to have you back,” Nick said in a quiet, arousing tone. His bedroom voice, she suspected. Definitely one that would make a woman roll over and spread her legs.
Vixen mentally shook the thought from her head and held her moan in check. Nick did things to her—without doing anything at all.
How cruel was the universe, really?
With the to-go cup of coffee in his hand, he gestured toward her computer. “New book?”
“Not exactly. I mean, yes. It’s supposed to be. But so far...” She shrugged a shoulder. “The ideas aren’t exactly flowing.”
He regarded her a few moments, then said, “We’re all lacking the Christmas spirit around here.”
“Kind of unfortunate.” A heavy weight filled her heart at the thought. “Really, that doesn’t even begin to cover it. I feel like...we’ve all just given up.” With a self-deprecating laugh, she added, “Not exactly a surprise. How long could holiday magic last in a town like this, when we were all hit hard with the recession? Lots of people lost hope...faith....”
“Including you?” he asked with a raised brow.
“I don’t know,” she said, honestly. “Not quite sure what I’m feeling. Just that it hasn’t been the same around here these past few years, and maybe that’s why I can’t come up with anything to write about. For most authors, fiction is fantasy. Make believe. For me, it was typical North Pole stuff that was the norm for all of us in town, and delighted those kids who could only imagine and dream of living in a year-round winter wonderland.”
“Some wonderland,” he said with a snort. “And our winter is one endless heat wave.”
“Yeah, I even had to order more short-sleeved shirts because the warm temps are relentless, when we should be wearing sweaters and scarves.”
Nick’s jaw tightened, a hint of disgruntlement crossing his sculpted features. Not a normal expression for the hot-to-trot bad boy.
“Something wrong?” she asked, though she knew to tread lightly. No need to get too involved with Nick. “Other than the fact that it feels like we’re in Florida in the middle of December, not Maine?”
“Just have some things on my mind.” He seemed purposely to loosen his jaw. Then he gave her a half-assed grin. The really sexy kind that only lifted one corner of his mouth and left her insides blazing. “I’ll see you around, okay?”
“Sure. Right.” Her pulse continued to race for no good reason. “Okay.”
Urgh! What was with the Marilyn Monroe voice?
Get a grip, Vix!
Nick sauntered into the bakery the next evening while Vixen tried, yet again, to conjure a bit of creativity with a draft synopsis.
He looked disheveled, sexily unkempt. More so than usual. His sandy-brown hair stuck out all over his head, as though he’d raked his hands through it numerous times. He wore a black v-necked T-shirt with Yeah, I Can Fix It scrawled across his rigid pectoral ledge. The material conformed to his hard muscles, the short sleeves straining against rock-hard biceps, the hem only halfway, haphazardly tucked into Levi’s that sported grease stains and sawdust.
Christ, the man could roll out of bed from a wild weekend and still look sinfully delicious.
Of course, Vixen wouldn’t know this first hand. But given how incredibly gorgeous Naughty
Nick was, she considered it an easy call to make.
He was a six-foot-two-inch hunk of a man with chiseled features, mischievous hazel eyes and a strong jawline covered by two days’ worth of stubble that gave him a sexy edge. Raw intensity mixed with irresistible charm oozed from his every pore. A lethal combination.
He chatted with Jenny for a few minutes as she manned the counter. Then Nick slid his gaze toward the small dining room and jerked his chin in Vixen’s direction, a casual greeting.
She averted her gaze.
For one thing, Nick was a thousand times out of her league. He had a reputation for knowing things... Things women like Vixen White didn’t speculate or fantasize about. She’d heard enough dreamy, lustful sighs over Nick to not only last a lifetime, but to convince her he’d be sadly disappointed if he ever got his hands on her.
Not that he ever would.
Where had that thought come from, anyway?
Darn that Jenny Bells for planting seeds in her head, telling her Nick had rambled on about her in his drunken state.
Honestly, Vixen had walked away from more than her fair share of water-cooler gossip about Nick—his talented hands and tongue...his scintillating bedroom talk...the wicked ways he
could so easily bring a woman to orgasm—to know she shouldn’t let him occupy a second of her thoughts. The two of them were not simpatico. Never had been, never would be.
She kept all those voices, thoughts and the clawing curiosity from her mind. She didn’t need to waste her time thinking about Nick. In fact, she figured it was best to pretend he didn’t even exist.
Impossible.
He constantly crept into her brain. She constantly dealt with the tug-o-war that was her sensible side and the burning desire she had to throw caution to the wind.
Such a dangerous game to play, even if it only a mental one.
Or one now grounded in reality—because Nick strolled toward her.
She caught the glimpse of him in her peripheral vision and her pulse kicked up several notches. He was at her elbow before she could close the lid on her laptop and escape out the side door.
“Hey, Vix.” His deep, sensual voice rolled slowly down her spine like warm honey. Making her squirm in a suddenly hot and bothered way.
He reached for the chair next to her, jerked it around and straddled the seat.
Peering suspiciously at him from under sooty lashes, she simply said, “Nick.”
Simply? Yeah, right.
Her tone was low and sultry. Belying the tingles that ran rampant through her body. The way they always did when Nick was near.
“Haven’t seen you in a while,” he commented as he unabashedly took her in, from her plump, dark curls that she’d pulled up on the sides, leaving soft tendrils around her temple, to her blue eyes she always accented with smoky shadow and glam-black mascara, to her glossy lips. His gaze lingered there a moment, making her breath catch, before dropping to her chest, which suddenly rose and fell with her now-shallow breathing.
He seemed reluctant to drag his attention from her breasts, capturing her gaze again, an unapologetic grin on his face and fire in his eyes.
Vixen felt the effects of that scorching look to the depths of her soul. She crossed her legs and pressed her thighs together as a tickle between them ratcheted her pulse even higher. Heat
burst on her cheeks and she had to tilt her head away, in hopes of hiding her instant, innate response to Nick.
“You know, you get prettier every day,” he said in is warm, intimate timbre.
Vixen knew better than to let him bait her with flattery. Even if it was incredibly sweet and so sincere-sounding that she truly wanted to believe he wasn’t just mindlessly flirting.
She knew better.
Forcing herself to ignore his compliment entirely, she said, “You haven’t seen me around because I’ve been busy.” Avoiding you. She bit back a sigh. It was pretty much a fulltime job. “I’ve been spending time in Bangor. My aunt has a bookstore there, remember? I’ve been filling in for her staff when they go on vacation or have family emergencies. Or when she’s just plain shorthanded.”
Her most recent stint had lasted an entire month. She’d missed North Pole the whole time. And despite knowing that keeping Nick out of her immediate line of vision was for the best—until she someday broke free of this ridiculous attraction she felt toward him—she’d yearned for those moments when she’d catch sight of him as much as she’d longed to return to their quirky little town.
But her Aunt Noelle was the only family Vixen had left. She’d lived in North Pole up until Vixen’s mother had passed when Vixen was just sixteen. Noelle had married and now she and her husband were happily settled in Bangor.
“Well, it’s nice to have you back,” Nick said in a quiet, arousing tone. His bedroom voice, she suspected. Definitely one that would make a woman roll over and spread her legs.
Vixen mentally shook the thought from her head and held her moan in check. Nick did things to her—without doing anything at all.
How cruel was the universe, really?
With the to-go cup of coffee in his hand, he gestured toward her computer. “New book?”
“Not exactly. I mean, yes. It’s supposed to be. But so far...” She shrugged a shoulder. “The ideas aren’t exactly flowing.”
He regarded her a few moments, then said, “We’re all lacking the Christmas spirit around here.”
“Kind of unfortunate.” A heavy weight filled her heart at the thought. “Really, that doesn’t even begin to cover it. I feel like...we’ve all just given up.” With a self-deprecating laugh, she added, “Not exactly a surprise. How long could holiday magic last in a town like this, when we were all hit hard with the recession? Lots of people lost hope...faith....”
“Including you?” he asked with a raised brow.
“I don’t know,” she said, honestly. “Not quite sure what I’m feeling. Just that it hasn’t been the same around here these past few years, and maybe that’s why I can’t come up with anything to write about. For most authors, fiction is fantasy. Make believe. For me, it was typical North Pole stuff that was the norm for all of us in town, and delighted those kids who could only imagine and dream of living in a year-round winter wonderland.”
“Some wonderland,” he said with a snort. “And our winter is one endless heat wave.”
“Yeah, I even had to order more short-sleeved shirts because the warm temps are relentless, when we should be wearing sweaters and scarves.”
Nick’s jaw tightened, a hint of disgruntlement crossing his sculpted features. Not a normal expression for the hot-to-trot bad boy.
“Something wrong?” she asked, though she knew to tread lightly. No need to get too involved with Nick. “Other than the fact that it feels like we’re in Florida in the middle of December, not Maine?”
“Just have some things on my mind.” He seemed purposely to loosen his jaw. Then he gave her a half-assed grin. The really sexy kind that only lifted one corner of his mouth and left her insides blazing. “I’ll see you around, okay?”
“Sure. Right.” Her pulse continued to race for no good reason. “Okay.”
Urgh! What was with the Marilyn Monroe voice?
Get a grip, Vix!
Erin Quinn is an award winning author who
writes haunting romance for the thinking reader. Her books have been
called “riveting,” “brilliantly plotted” and “beautifully written” and
have won, placed or showed in in number awards. Look for THE THREE
FATES OF RYAN LOVE, coming in January from Pocket Books. Go to www.erinquinnbooks.com for more information.
Author Links:
http://www.erinquinnbooks.com
https://www.facebook.com/ErinQuinnAuthor
https://twitter.com/ErinQuinnAuthor
Calista Fox is a former PR professional, now writing fast-paced, steamy books to set your pulse racing--including the BURNED DEEP trilogy, coming in 2015 from St. Martin's Press! She is an Amazon bestseller and has won Reviewer’s and Reader’s Choice Awards, as well as a Best Book Award, and competitions with publication as the prize.
http://www.erinquinnbooks.com
https://www.facebook.com/ErinQuinnAuthor
https://twitter.com/ErinQuinnAuthor
Calista Fox is a former PR professional, now writing fast-paced, steamy books to set your pulse racing--including the BURNED DEEP trilogy, coming in 2015 from St. Martin's Press! She is an Amazon bestseller and has won Reviewer’s and Reader’s Choice Awards, as well as a Best Book Award, and competitions with publication as the prize.
Author Links:
USA Today bestselling author Mary Leo
writes contemporary romance, paranormal romance, romantic suspense, and
mystery. She loves to travel for research while she’s writing a book,
or for that matter, even when she’s not writing a book . . . which
always leads to yet another book.
Author Links:
http://www.maryleo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/maryleoauthor
https://twitter.com/maryleoauthor
http://www.maryleo.com/
https://www.facebook.com/maryleoauthor
https://twitter.com/maryleoauthor
Buy Links:
Kissing Kris Kringle:
Naughty St. Nick:
Romancing Rudy Raindear:
Blitz Wide Giveaway (Open INT):
Grand Prize: $50 Amazon gift card
Second Prize: $25 Amazon gift card
Third Prize: Any two of Mary Leo's ebooks
This is an AMAZING giveaway!!! :D
ReplyDeleteMary G Loki
Thanks for the great giveaway and post!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to read. Thank you for the giveaway.
ReplyDelete